If you live in New York City, then you know about the inevitable L Train shutdown starting in early 2019. The train connects Brooklyn to Manhattan and serves roughly 400,000 commuters each day. While the city is planning to spend 15 months repairing water damage from Hurricane Sandy on the L Train, it still hasn’t come up with a viable solution to replace the method of transportation that so many people rely on to get to work each morning.
That’s where The New L comes in -- a flashy, bougie startup for commuters designed specifically to fill the gap in the L Train’s service. According to the company’s website, the company will serve people who don’t want to deal with a two-hour (or more) commute into Manhattan, quit their jobs or actually (*gasp*) move to Manhattan.
The New L boasts that commuters will be driven around in “luxury shuttles driven by professional chauffeurs” which will also contain cell phone chargers, WiFi and a breakfast bar full of “scrumptious items” sourced from local restaurants.
If you sign up on the company’s waitlist early enough to get a spot (300 have already signed up since the company’s launch on July 25), The New L will show up at your door at the same time every morning with no need to rebook your ride every day.
However, there is a caveat: The New L will only take you from Brooklyn into Manhattan in the morning -- after work, you’re on your own. President Jamie Getto has stated that the company is still working to find an affordable way to shuttle commuters home at night, but is hindered by differences in people’s work schedules.
With a monthly fee of $155 per month -- only $34 more per month than a monthly rail card -- the service is not necessarily the most affordable, but not as steep as it could be, either.
There are still other details to be discussed, like figuring out how breakfast will be served and ideas of micro-transportation, i.e. shuttling commuters from their homes to the next-closest subway stop.
The New L plans to partner with existing taxi, van and limo fleets that are competing with ride share companies like Uber and Lyft, stating that those kinds of vehicles aren’t really being used in the mornings. By partnering with The New L, Getto claims that luxury vehicle companies will also benefit from more active business.
NYC resident Aaron Nauth told the NY Post, “That’s not enticing. They should [just] charge the regular fare.”
Another NYC resident who takes the L almost every day, Rob Massina, said, “I can’t imagine a shuttle bus with breakfast! But I am definitely up for it. It sounds nice. It’s amenities you don’t normally get on the subway.”